One of the world’s most prestigious cinematic celebrations, the 82nd Venice Film Festival ended on Saturday with its award ceremony, honoring the best actors of global filmmaking. While the Venice International Film Festival 2025, India’s Anuparna Roy created history, Dwayne Johnson’s film ‘The Smashing Machine’ also won a big award. Starting from 27 August to 6 September, this prestigious festival not only premiered the best films around the world, but also honored the best films. This year’s Venice Film Festival was very special for India. Director Anuparna Roy made history by winning the Best Director Award in the Origeti section for the ‘Songs of Fortyon Trees’. The film is the story of two migrants from Mumbai, who seek relationships and hope between loneliness and struggle.
The ceremony led to a surprising turn when the American independent film ‘Father Mother Sister Brother’ won the prestigious Golden Lion Award for Best Film, overtaking the highly popular ‘The Voice of Hind Rajab’. The film, based on a strong story based on the Gaza crisis, was applauded by the audience for 22 minutes, but it missed the top award.
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‘Songs of Fortgotton Trees’, this year is the only Indian entry in the Orhizonti section. It has acted by Naz Sheikh and Sumi Baghel and it shows the life of two women from Mumbai. Produced by Bibbhanshu Rai, Romil Modi and Ranjan Singh, the film received widespread praise for its story and Roy’s confident direction.
Reacting to her victory, Anuparna Roy dedicated the award to women globally, saying, “The film is a tribute to every woman who was once silenced, ignored or underestimated. The victory inspires more voices for women and beyond women, and more stories and more power.” The award, provided by filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, takes a step forward towards gender representation in international cinema.
The festival honored both experienced and emerging filmmakers, highlighting various stories and cinematic excellence. Roy’s victory indicates a changing scenario in global cinema that adopts new voices and sets an example for Indian filmmakers wishing to be recognized on international forums.
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Chief winning – main part
Golden Lion for Best Film: “Father Mother Sister Brother” by Jim Jarmush (United States)
Silver Lion Grand Jury Award: “The Voice of Hind Razab” by Kaututh Ben Hania (Tunisia)
Silver Lion for Best Director: “The Smashing Machine” by Beni Safdi (United States)
Volley Cup for Best Actress: “The Sun Rise on as All” by Shin Zilei (China)
Volley Cup for Best Actor: “La Grazia” by Tony Surillo (Italy)
Best Screenplay: “A Pied Douver” by Valerie Donzeli
Special Jury Award: “Sotto Le Nuvole” by Gianfranko Rosie (Below the Clouds) (Italy)
Marcello Mastroiyani Award for Best Youth Actor/Actress: Luna Vedalr (Switzerland) in “Silent Friend” by Idlico Enedi (Switzerland)
Prominent winning – Origee Class
Best Film: NL Camino by David Pablos (Mexico)
Best Director: Songs of Forgotton Tries by Anuparna Roy (India)
Special Jury Award: Lost Land by Akio Fujimoto (Japan)
Best Acrescent: A. Ear of School by Jiacamo Koi (Italy)
Best Actress: The Kidnapping of Arabella by Benedata Porcaroli (Italy)
Best Screenplay: Hiadra by Ana Christina Bairagan (Ecuador)
Best Short Film: Lavisa Sairan (Sweden) made by
The end of the 82nd Venice Film Festival was fantastic, which showed the richness of global story telling and established Anuparna Roy’s victory as a historic moment for Indian cinema on the world stage.